Government to improve tech offering in schools as digital skills gap threatens human capital

Jamaica’s growing digital skills gap could undermine the country’s ability to supply businesses with the human capital they need to grow, founder of iamtheCODE Caribbean Mariame McIntosh Robinson has warned.

McIntosh Robinson, the former chief executive officer of First Global Bank, said businesses were increasingly raising concerns about their inability to find suitably skilled workers.

She was speaking at a recent Digital and Skills Roundtable Meeting hosted by the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) and iamtheCODE Caribbean at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

She argued that 36 per cent of Jamaicans between 25 and 64 have Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) qualification but have limited formal digital-skills training, and cited World Bank data indicating that fewer than 10 per cent of Jamaican digital businesses use platform-based or digitally driven business models.

"Access to capital is often cited as a constraint to business growth, but lately there's an outcry where businesses are saying 'I can’t find access to the human capital’. Imagine what happens to our country when we don't have the human capital," she charged.

“Our goal is to bring people together,” she said, arguing that Jamaica could achieve more through greater collaboration among the various stakeholders.

Responding to the concerns, Education Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon said the Government is moving to place technology at the centre of the education system.

Morris Dixon announced that every high school has now been equipped with computers for its computer laboratories, while each primary school is expected to receive 30 computers.

She is also calling on corporate Jamaica to assist schools with retrofitting and modernising their computer laboratories, noting that stronger partnerships between the Government and private sector could help to bridge the digital divide and give more students access to technology.

At the same time, Morris Dixon said Jamaica must build on what she described as strong academic performance among students entering high school.

“We have to keep that momentum going,” she declared.

The comments come against the backdrop of growing demands for Jamaica’s education system to produce students equipped not only with traditional academic qualifications, but also the digital and technical skills needed in an increasingly technology-driven economy.

For McIntosh Robinson, closing that gap will require the country’s existing initiatives to work together more effectively, while ensuring that students and workers are given meaningful opportunities to develop the skills businesses increasingly need.

- Corey Robinson

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.